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Ultra-processed food is one of the main contributors to energy supply and consumption in food systems worldwide, and evidence of their detrimental health outcomes in humans is emerging. This study aimed to assess ultra-processed food intake and its association with urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of DNA oxidative damage, in 139 healthy adolescents in Karaj City in Iran. Usual dietary intake was measured using a 168-item validated FFQ. The daily intake of ultra-processed food consumption was determined through the classification of NOVA, and general linear models were used to compare the urinary levels of 8-OHdG/creatinine (ng/mg creatinine) within tertiles of ultra-processed food intake. Adolescents in the higher tertile of ultra-processed food consumption had a significantly higher mean level of urinary 8-OHdG/creatinine in comparison with the lower tertiles in the crude model (Pfor trend: 0·003) and after adjustment for confounding variables, including total energy intake, sex, age, BMI for age Z-score, obesity and physical activity (Pfor trend: 0·004). This association was still significant after adjusting for dietary intake of whole grains, nuts, legumes, the ratio of MUFA:SFA (g/d) and Mediterranean dietary score (Pfor trend: 0·002). More studies are needed to explore the determinants of ultra-processed food supply, demand, consumption and health effects; such studies should be applied to develop evidence-informed policies and regulatory mechanisms to improve children’s and adolescents’ food environment policymaking and legislation with special attention to ultra-processed food.

Objectives Owing to the importance of global commitment to reduce undernourishment, knowing the trend of undernourishment and its associated macro-level factors is of great importance. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the undernourishment trend and its association with several country-level socio-economic and agricultural factors for 76 countries during 1991–2013. Study design The design of this study is a cross-country ecological study. Methods Data on undernourishment and associated factors representing the four dimensions of food security were retrieved from the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank databases for 76 countries during 1991–2013. To define the determinants of undernourishment, countries were classified based on macro-level factors as the independent variables, and the trend of undernourishment was assessed within different tertiles of independent variables for the crude and adjusted model controlling other variables during 1991–2013 using tempo-spatial multilevel regression models. Results Among all 76 countries and geographical regions, the prevalence of undernourishment had a significant declining trend; however, no significant changes were found in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region including Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia and Yemen and South Asia region during 1991–2013. Countries in the lower categories of which experienced a higher human development index (HDI), literacy rate, as well as a lower under 5-child mortality rate and Gini coefficient experienced a greater decline for undernourishment when compared to others. No significant difference was found for undernourishment trends in countries within different tertiles of the growth of domestic product, percentage of agricultural land, food production index and livestock production index. Conclusions The significant difference in the declining trend of undernourishment within countries experiencing better status of the HDI, Gini coefficient literacy rate and child mortality highlights considering the whole food system approach to improve undernourishment, taking into account utility and stability dimension of national food security. More investment in increasing the HDI, health investment, education and equal income distributions might be helpful for reducing undernourishment prevalence.

Although strong evidence supports the antioxidant potential of flavonoids in vitro, the effect of flavonoids at physiological concentrations on the overall antioxidant status in humans is inconsistent. The aim of this study was to examine cross-sectional associations between total flavonoid consumption, serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in apparently healthy women.Through a multistage cluster sampling, 170 women ages 20 to 48 y were recruited. The usual dietary flavonoid intake was estimated using a semiquantitive food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) by matching food items with the US Department of Agriculture flavonoid databases. General linear models were used to compare the biochemical parameters across tertiles of flavonoid intakes.As dietary anthocyanin intake rose from the lowest to the highest tertile, the multivariate-adjusted mean TAC concentrations significantly increased from 1.08 to 1.28 (Ptrend = 0.01). This association was still significant after adjustment for fruit and vegetable intake and antioxidant vitamins (Ptrend = 0.03). The highest tertile of total flavonoid intake and theaflavins had higher mean concentrations of TAC than did the lowest tertile, but there was no linear trend (P 0.05). There were statistically significant positive relationships between dietary intake of grapes and eggplant as main food sources of anthocyanins and serum TAC (P = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). No significant associations were found between MDA and flavonoids intakes (P 0.05).The findings of the present study support the attribution of anthocyanins to overall antioxidant status. However, further research is needed to confirm these observed associations.